Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Heute wollen wir marschieren

They're back. Fielding fighting troops in far of places for the first time in 60 years.

Makes me think of what somebody (was it Mitterand? Thatcher?) said at German reunification now twenty years ago: "It's like the Beatles getting together again—let's just hope they don't go on another world tour!"

Thursday, August 20, 2009

РОБОТЫ - Comrades of Steel

Robotni - Comrades of Steel.

Very cool Soviet-era poster.

Brings back memories of my Archie the Man of Steel comics in the 70ies.

Florence & The Machine

My hands-down-this-summer's-favourite-song: Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up) by new indie band Florence & The Machine. Absolutely great! The Cranberries meets Texas meets Kleerup (and then some). Leadsinger Florence Welch has the most amazing voice, great lyrics, loads of layers, backturns, countercurrent. Wow!

While at it do also check out their songs Howl, Girl With One Eye and Cosmic Love. All these songs are from their debut album Lungs, released 9 July 2009. Well... actually, while at it, get the whole album. Fabulous!

Not so sure that the KateBush-esque video they made for Rabbit Heart is to my liking, but just dump the video and listen to the music instead.

Florence & The Machine is going to be Big!

... and what do I just discover? My music guru Eric Corton has Florence & The Machine as his band this week on his video blog at nrc.nl
http://nrc.tv/video/rocks/article1357668.ece/Florence_%2B_The_Machine
This just wraps it for me.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

The MADIGAN - a Gil Smith Catboat

The MADIGAN is a Long Island Catboat. It is a replica of the original catboat WINWARD built by Gil Smith in 1895. The MADIGAN was built in 1995 by The Apprenticeshop of Rockland, Maine.

In my view it is the most beautiful sailing ship ever designed. The lines are just amazing. A piece of art.

Apparently there is only one such ship in Europe. The COHIBA, built in Finland in 2002. Some years ago it was for sale for 25K euro.

The Apprenticeshop in Maine will build you a new Gil Smith Catboat, identical to the pictured MADIGAN, for 48K USD...... and by God, I am tempted!

www.atlanticchallenge.com

The J3 Soapbox Car

(A soapbox car - also variously known as a soapbox cart, and billy cart - is a motorless vehicle capable of holding a driver, usually a child, built for the purpose of racing or recreation. Propelled by gravity, soapbox cars can reach upwards of 50 km/h. Originally, soapbox cars were built from wooden soap or orange crates and rollerskate wheels)






The coolest 9-year old in the world

10.08.09 - View from my room at The Standard

GANT Rugger Bike















Finally it is there: the GANT Rugger Bike!
Pride on wheels.

Pieter Hugo

About the photo serie The Hyena & Other Men taken in Nigeria by South African photographer Pieter Hugo:

"In Abuja we found them living on the periphery of the city in a shantytown - a group of men, a little girl, three hyenas, four monkeys and a few rock pythons. It turned out that they were a group of itinerant minstrels, performers who used the animals to entertain crowds and sell traditional medicines. The animal handlers were all related to each other and were practising a tradition passed down from generation to generation. I spent eight days travelling with them"

from

www.pieterhugo.com


Russian Criminal Tattoos

Between 1948 to 2005, 3,000 drawings were compiled by prison warden and ethnographer Danzing Baldaev of the tattoos of Russian inmates. Supported by the KGB, who recognised the usefulness of such a document, these drawings were supplemented by photographs by Sergei Vasiliev, a fellow warden:





Sunday, May 10, 2009

Albert Kahn (..cont.)


















Another gem from Albert Kahn's big color photography project. A true colour photo from Russia around 1912. Real colour photograph, not colorated!

Citroen DS

Most beautiful car ever made, all categories. The Citroen DS. Another example of remarkably innovative French engineering. Decades ahead of its time.

Fouga Magister


This cool little twoseater training jet is the Fouga Magister. It's so French. It's as much part of the French 60ies as Louis de Funes and the Citroen DS. These planes were used to train Dassault Mirage fighter jet pilots.

I remember seeing these planes with their characteristic V-tails when on summer vacation in France. They would come in low over the beaches. Beautiful airplane.


Thursday, May 7, 2009

Gamla Stans Cykel

Visited this bikestore in Stockholm's Gamla Stan (the old city) during a lunch break to buy a Brooks saddle for my Biomega bike. This store is just a small miracle. Almost like a museum. Beautiful century old vintage bikes, enamel bike brand signs, vintage saddles. Truly passionate owners. This is the best bike store in Stockholm.

Stora Nygatan 20
Stockholm
www.gamlastanscykel.se

The Rosewood Thieves

A newish - that is, I just heard of them for the first time last week - and very cool folk rock band from New York.

The song Los Angeles for the 2006 album From the Decker House is fantastic. The leadsinger Erick Jordan's voice brings to mind John Lennon, and there's generally some kind of strange Americana take on The Beatles feel to the whole thing going on, but it's great. The video's very low budget, but the band's great and so is this song. Also do check out their song Flat Tire on http://www.myspace.com/therosewoodthieves

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Pashley

Very very nice bicycle. The Pashley Guv'nor. Based on a racer the company produced in the 30ies, it comes with Reynolds 531 tubing, 28'' wheels, and a Brooks leather saddle. So cool. At 695 British Pounds it is not even unreasonably priced.

Pashley Cycles is England's longest established cycle manufacturer. Established in 1926 and based in Stratford- upon-Avon




Do check it out this bicicletta favoloso at:

http://www.pashley.co.uk/guvnor/gallery.html

Crockett & Jones

A year ago or so, I walked into a gentleman's shoestore offering classic English bootmaker Crockett & Jones. I was looking for a pair of black Jodhpurs, but the styles on offer were not really to my liking. I was looking for more of a 70ies round-nosed look. No problem said the salesperson, who invited me to his office. There he produced Crockett & Jones catalogues dating back to pre-war days.

He informed me that Crockett & Jones could still produce one-off pairs of boots or shoes from past collections, since they keep an archive of all the mandrels and molds of their old styles. The boot would be a standard size - eight and a half in my case - not made-to-measure, but if would be a boot identical to the boot produced decades ago. Not a reproduction, not a copy, but the real thing, produced by Crockett & Jones with the same mandrels, molds and tools. This service was priced accordingly, approximately at regular retail price plus fifty percent.

I chose a pair of black 1972 Crockett & Jones Jodhpurs that set me back five hundred euros, with a three month delivery time. Well worth it. I have now worn the boots for one winter season, and they're absolute heaven.

http://www.crockettandjones.co.uk/

Monday, May 4, 2009

Moods of Norway

A quirky colourful Norwegian fashion brand. Love their necklabel text:

Made in Europe by Really Really Pretty Blond Girls

Check them out at:
http://www.moodsofnorway.com/

The Green Fairy

Absinthe, an almost mythical green-colored alcoholic drink that for many years was forbidden in most European countries. The Green Fairy, as Absinthe is sometimes called, is anise flavored and made with the Artemisia Absinthium (wormwood) herb, which gives it its distinctive flavour.

Spurred by the teetotalism movement at the beginning of the 1900s, absinthe was publicly associated with violent crimes and social disorder. As one critic put it: Absinthe makes you crazy and criminal, provokes epilepsy and tuberculosis, and has killed thousands of French people. It makes a ferocious beast of man, a martyr of woman, and a degenerate of the infant, it disorganizes and ruins the family and menaces the future of the country.

In 1906, Belgium banned the sale and distribution of absinthe. The Netherlands in 1909; the United States banned it in 1912, and France in 1915.

Since a few years back Absinthe is once again manufactured and available and has since regained some of its former cult following.

I for one am a big fan!

Grappa di Barolo

Marolo is an Italian grappa producer. My favourite: Grappa di Barolo, created from a distillation of Barolo Nebbiolo pomace. Aged in barrels, amber-toned in color (so not the usual colorless grappa), with an intense aroma particularly rich in vanilla, almonds, licorice, and cocoa. Very elegant. Warmly recommended. And the etched label with the Kingfisher is just absolutely beautiful.

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

President Kennedy receives a gift salamander from his nephew, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., in the Oval Office in March 1961.

Amalia Rodriguez

On 25 April 1974 the Carnation Revolution in Portugal ended the dictatorship of Antonio Salazar, one of the last Fascist regimes of Western Europe.

Amalia Rodriguez is Portugal's Queen of Fado.

Her song Grandola Vila Morena is the hymn of the Carnation Revolution and it still gives me goosebumps everytime I hear it.

Umm Khalsoum

Umm Khalsoum was a fabulous and world famous Egyptian singer who reached the summits of her fame in the 60ies and 70ies. She is perhaps the biggest Arabic music artist ever to have lived. In the Middle East everybody knows and loves her. She was referred to as "The Lady" by Charles de Gaulle and was regarded as "The Incomparable Voice" by Maria Callas. The rich and famous would fly in from the entire region for her concerts at Kasr el Nil. Muammar Khaddafi's revolution in Libya was postponed because of a radio broadcast of an Umm Khalsoum concert. She has sold more records than The Beatles, and her funeral in Cairo in 1975 was attended by four million people, making it one of the largest gatherings in human history.

It is known that she had the ability to sing as low as the second octave, as well as the ability to sing as high as between the seventh and the eighth octaves at her vocal peak. Her remarkable ability to produce approximately 14,000 vibrations per second with her vocal chords, her unparalleled vocal strength (no commercial microphone utilized for singing could withstand its strength, forcing her to stand at a 1- to 3-meter radius away from one), and her voice’s unique and breathtaking beauty that surpassed convention arguably made her one of the voices of all time

This is a YouTube video from 1966 of The Pearl of The Nile singing Al Atlal (The Ruines), my alltime favourite piece of Arabic music.

Dry cleaners

On our way from a nice dinner at bistro Mäster Anders on Kungsholmen, we passed this wonderful 1950s drycleaner's sign on St Eriksgatan.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Albert Kahn

Albert Kahn was a French banker, philantropist, art lover and photography maecenas. In 1908 he decided to use the recently invented color photography technology (yes color!) to document the world in images. He hired renowned photographers to travel the world and photograph people high and low, landscapes, cityscapes, buildings.

An amazing project that went on from 1909 to 1930. The legacy is remarkable, and remarkably unknown. Probably because it is French rather than American or British...

His big project was interrupted by WW1, but that did not stop the photography. He continued, which has given us an unbelievable collection of WW1 images in color. Just look at these pictures of colonial conscripts from Algeria, Senegal and Indochina. Fighting for the French on the fields of Flanders, in Verdun, at the Somme. Amazing from more than one perspective...

True color photos; no post-coloration, no present-day digital manipulation. It's the real thing: color images almost a century old. Truly amazing.




There's a fantastic book on Albert Kahn and the photo's:
http://www.albertkahn.co.uk


Ministeck

My oldest friend commented on one of my blogs on Brezhnev, that Leonid's breastful of medals looks just like that 70ies children's "thing with the small bits of plastic that you lay pictures with on a white little board", and of course he meant Ministeck! Yes! Ministeck! I had forgottten about wonderful Ministeck, but it all came back. The long hours of nittygritty work with these frustratingly small pieces. The warming satisfaction of the result to show to mom and dad. God how many hours and days did I spent with Ministeck. Loved that stuff as a kid. Melancholy strikes me down!

Billy Reid

After a quick flyby Jeffrey's, I went and took a good long look at the Billy Reid store on 52 Bond Street (corner Bond Street and Bowery) today. Very nice store, nice staff, nice collection. Interesting guy. Originally a Southener, from Louisiana, he happily plays the southern comfort card. One t-shirt reads Make Cornbread, Not War. His shirts are fabulous, as are his piquet polos and some of the jackets. I also saw some nice khaki desert boots. Billy Reid won the 2001 CFDA Menswear Designer of the Year Award, and looking at his collection it is all quite obvious: Steven Alan, Michael Bastian, Tim Hamilton, Thom Browne...all great...and please add Billy Reid to the list in case you hadn't already.

I bought a black t-shirt with deep-burgundy print that says Ole War Skule; Louisiana State University's nickname - apparently i lieu of all the all american warriors the school has brought forth, a pink piquet polo and a nice checkered shirt.











http://www.billyreid.com

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Herr Judit

Also had a look at Herr Judit, a store for 2nd hand exclusive brands. Saw some nice Comme des Garcons shirts, lots of Ralph stuff, lots of Eton stuff. A bit of Gant and Acne. The store has an interesting concept: you actually can hang nice 2nd hand pieces there (of course they will have to approve the piece), and when it gets sold, you as the still-owner get a commission. Facinating concept; but I'm not sure whether this is sustainable. Didn't like their leather accessories though; they looked like newly and poorly manufactured copies of nice 70ies and 80is pieces. Still, if you're looking for nice 3-5 year old exclusive clothes at a very reasonable price (for example a superb Comme des Garcons linen shirt at ca. 500 Skr = 50 €) this place is sure worth a visit.

Herr Judit, Hornsgatan 65, Södermalm , Stockholm www.herrjudit.se

Beyond Retro

Spent some time during Saturday afternoon in the Beyond Retro vintage store on Åsögatan on Södermalm in Stockholm.

Found and bought a very intriguing blue and white Lacoste tracktop. It looks early 70ies and carries some interesting necklabels: a Chemiste Lacoste label with a blue croc, a label of IZOD, including the words by Odlo of Norway, and a third necklabel carrying the words Odlo, Made in Norway. Fascinating! A Norwegian Lacoste Tracktop!

Some Googling revealed the following: IZOD Lacoste was a brand name licensed by Lacoste to IZOD from 1952-1993. While IZOD was already established in America, the name "Lacoste" was added for prestige and introducing "Lacoste" to the American market. IZOD/Lacoste hit its peak popularity in the late 70's. Odlo of Norway was a Norwegian Skiwear company that had a license to produce Lacoste/IZOD apparel for the Norwegian market in the 60ies and 70ies.

Also bought a 60ies shirt made by GANT Shirtmakers for Nathan's Men's Shop in Galveston, Texas, USA. The shirt type is called The Hugger. With some very cool necklabels.

http://www.beyondretro.com

Friday, April 24, 2009

Deeply depressing















This image, taken during one of the earlier years of the War in Iraq, has a profoundly depressing effect on me. Looking at it still makes me feel enormous anger!

This Iraqi father in his jallabah and slippers with a black sack over his head, sitting in the hot desert sand behind barbed wire as a prisoner of the occupation forces of George W. He is holding and trying to console his little son next to him. So very angering and depressing.

Somehow...

...somehow, this image fills me with an enormous sense of hope and optimism for the world.

The Ultimate Bling Bling Lover: Brezhnev (cont.)

Brezhnev was well known for his love of medals (he received a total of 114). In December 1976, for his 70th birthday, he was "awarded" the hero of The Hero of the Soviet Union. The award, the highest order of the Soviet Union, is normally only given for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society. Brezhnev received the award, which comes with the order of Lenin and the Gold Star, three more times in celebration of his birthdays. Brezhnev also received the Order of Victory, the highest Soviet military award, in 1978, becoming the only recipient receiving the order after the end of World War II. Brezhnev's controversial award was, however, revoked posthumously in 1989 for not meeting the requirements for the award.

By comparison today's Russian leadership looks rather tame....
Ah... where did those days go....? The days of Leonid "MedalMad" Brezhnev, Konstantin "NonEvent" Chernenko, and Nikita "TableBanger" Krushchev...

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Immortal cinema - Withnail and I

Silent Shout

Yes, it is a few years old by now, and yes it remains a distinctly odd video, but Silent Shout by The Knife to me is the best piece of electronic music of the millenium so far; accompanied ot its sublime summit by Trentemøller's Take Me Into Your Skin.

Waltz with Bashir

We went to see the Israeli film Waltz with Bashir last Saturday evening at Zita Cinema in Stockholm. 

The movie is about the Israeli war in Lebanon in 1980. It's told from the perspective of some rather traumatized and alienated individual soldiers. At the heart of the story are the massacres at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in Beirut.

It's a cartoon movie, but that's something you fail to take notice of already after a few minutes. It's a truly beautifully made movie. The drawing is magnificent; the poetry of the images and scenes just fabulous. It's also well told, incredibly captivating and moving. It is also a deeply disturbing movie. 

The atmospere of the movie is highly claustrophobic and haunting. Borderline psychotic; the soldiers are high on drugs and so is the movie. It brings Apocalypse Now to mind, but less embellished, more naked, more honest. 

Strongly recommended. Very strongly recommended.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Zarautz 1970ies

In the classic Basque resort town of Zarautz I spent many of my childhood summers. Chocolata con Churros on the promenade, the wild waves of the Gulf of Biscaye, the surf dudes, the peninsula of El Rato always on the horizon, the pelota playing, the red berets, the always present ETA grafiti, the nightly raids by the Guardia Civil, the traditional dinner of paella at nostalgic Hotel Duce (now long demolished), and on the beach the megaphone announcements in Basque, always followed with es karrikasko - thank you.